Thursday...met BigWides, Mcfly and BigAl at Philly airport, all four of us were seated on the same side of the plane-close to 1,110lbs...Arrived in C-bus and Gazarro (forum member) was nice enough to give us a ride to our hotels and provide the scale for the lifting weigh ins...Thanks again Gaz.! Met at The Cage...GDiesel, NaturalGuy, Juggernaut, JDawg, Mr.Aestheticz, Ragingmuscle and others where there putting in the finishing touches. With a strong hand shake and shoulder check, we all seemed like long lost brothers that just got reacquainted. Off to BD's Mongolian Grill for much needed food!...Dessert was had by some...An early Metro Fitness workout was planned...VinnyG schooled JDawg,NaturalGuy & myself on back training "Dorian Yates Style" Was a great-intense-hard and a very learning workout---Thank you VinnyG. VinnyG and I did a 30 minute cardio session and spoke about his IFBB Pro debut in the NY Pro...He will do very...VERY good! GDiesel had a wicked idea--GET TO BED EARLY FOR A LONG FIRST DAY AT THE CAGE---he was on point! After a great steak dinner at Max & Erma's with greater company off to bed early for rest!
Friday...The Cage and Animal booth was jammed, the free Cage/09 shirts were flying off the shelves fast! All lifting demos and seminars were greatly attended. With all the Animal merchandise being sold, and the Cage super crowded, every one of us had time to talk to people, pose for pictures and autograph things..Wrath, House and Ox must have autographed a ton of DVD's and Training Journals for people and always had a smile on their faces and treated each person as the first person they talked to! VinnyG another great year on the microphone...keeping it very real! Metro Fitness for workout#2 JDawg, Futilekyle and myself hit an intense chest workout...JDawg and I did some calves afterwards. PR's were made by all and we had fun with some pictures taking as well. Off to Max & Erma's for a Laredo steak dinner and another night of rest!
Saturday...let the madness begin..THIS IS THE BUSIEST AND MOST CROWDED DAY OF THE EXPO! Again all man power was needed for the Cage and The Booth...Everyone chipped in and worked hard as a team...12:00 noon The Blackout started...The true meaning of being an Animal was heard and people loved it! Arnold "I will be back" strolled by The Cage. Some forum members were lucky enough to get up-close pictures and a hand shake...Another great day of open lifting contests, Pros VS. Joes and seminars came to a close. The largest ABC to date was held at 8:00pm at Metro Fitness. HUGE ATTENDANCE was an under statement! Tons of energy & excitement filled the gym. Having fun, learning along the way and meeting new friends was done by all! Scals, Broc, Bcon and myself hit a crazy leg workout...VinnyG jumped in for some heavy leg presses as well! A group photo was done. Last supper---Max & Erma's. Was great to talk to Newbread and his company and the many others...had the back two tables. With the clocks turning back and losing one hour of sleep...another early night and start to pack for Sunday's last day.
Sunday. Was a bit calmer but still an intense day...The seminars, open lifting contests and Pros vs. Joes came to a final end. The largely stocked Booth at Animal withered away to nothing...Guys-Girls--if you want something/buy it early! LOL Don't wait until Sunday! NaturalGuy and I took a fast break-walking around some of the booths. Of course I had my camera in hand. I am like a little kid when it comes to this stuff...NaturalGuy said this, and he is 100% right. The excitement of meeting my peers and people who I look up to in this crazy sport of bodybuilding. The true passion always comes out....I do have tons of pictures in my home-basement gym, but always aim to collect more...NG thanks for the pics. you took and it was very cool walking the expo with you. Saying the goodbyes and thanking every one for a good time was not easy to do. Some of these people I will only see once a year, but I know they are just a keyboard away! Gazarro was also kind enough to provide us a ride back to the airport. Meeting up with Mr.Aestheticz at the airport, he joined our crew for a burger. He rolled of to his home town flight and so did we.
As I was on the bumpy plane ride back to Philly. I pondered...This weekend, at The Cage/Booth there were NO skimpy clothed women, screaming-chanting our product line, throwing out free t-shirts into the crowd, free samples being handed out or other "sale gimmicks" All of us had time for anybody/everybody...I had people approach me about how I had helped them/answered an injury question in the past. They thanked me and that made me feel better than any contest I had ever won! The many Pros always had times in their busy schedule for anybody...snapping pictures, signing autographs or just talking training-diet! Animal is true, no BS. I want to thank everyone at Universal/AnimalPak for letting me part of this great and my best Arnold Classic weekend ever! Thank you Michelle (I hope you are feeling much better and have your voice back) and the others back at Corporate who go unnoticed who also help with putting together this great weekend! I know The Cage gets better every year and I cannot wait until next year to see the new things Animal has planned, but the things that they will always have is integrity and desire. This is why I am so proud to be part of this great team!